R. Nazatir

One Nazatir on board ship is worth a whole crew. Five Nazatir on board and you have a navy.
							                  - Saying among sailors

Nazatirians are known best for three things: their seamanship skills, their ships, and their spices (I might add that their womenfolk are fabulous cooks who make splendid fish dishes). Nazatirians are a sea-bred people. No surprise since all their towns and cities are either on or near the coastline. Even the spice farms are located not too far from the cities of Toorin and Prastul. The interior of the island is almost never utilized unless for purposes of seeking higher ground during extreme flooding, hunt of wild boar, agriculture other than harvest of spices, or for finding strong & sturdy trees to cut down for building ships (over the centuries the forests have been slowly shrinking as more trees are cut down to build ships). 
If one is to look into the past for the origins of these sea-faring people one will find that there exists no historical records past 400 A.C. Records dating to that time tell of a violent storm that brought massive flooding and destruction to all coastal populations on the entire island. Because of the loss of so much in that destructive storm it has fueled debate among historians on whether the Nazatirians come from elsewhere or are they natives to the island. 
Elderly Nazatirian fishermen (they also have some wonderful stories about being children of humans and Nerinians, seal people) and many of other folk stories dating back to 400 – 500 A.C. will tell you that they came from across the sea to escape a Great War. The question becomes which war? The War of Fire in 1500 B.C. or during The Age of Darkness when the Hordes ruled over much of the continent in 600 B.C.? It is interesting to note that there is no mention of Vainar’s Curse in their folklore at all which leads many to eliminate this time period as an origin point. There exists another possibility. The Great War that they speak of may have been on another landmass that has yet to be discovered. To this day, no Nazatirian seaman will dare venture far out into the waters southwest of the island. If asked they will simply say, “It is forbidden.”  Yet they cannot tell you why.
Maps found in Fae archives dating back all the way to 3000 B.C. don’t even show Nazatir. The earliest sea travel began in 1000 B.C. but the island of Nazatir does not appear on mainland maps until 1278 A.C. when trade was opened up between the island and the Freelands. Of course, the Pirate Archipelagoes show Nazatir on their maps from as far back as 30 A.C. but they either failed to mention this to the Freelands when they established contact in 250 A.C. or they kept the island a secret. So it seems that these people remained a remote and undisturbed civilization untouched by the greater happenings on the main continent of Shaintar. 
What is known is that the Nazatirians had been on the island for many centuries before they established relations with the Pirate Archipelagoes. Records from 400 – 500 A.C. show a system of government and structured society was already in place and well established. The island is ruled by a Council and a leader. A seat on the Council is for life with the exception of banishment due to crimes. Each of the five House selects from it’s family two members to place on the Council. From the Council of Ten only one is elected by the Council and the general populace to be the Vox Populi every ten years. 
There exist five main industries that are controlled by five houses. The spice farms of Toorin and Prastul are controlled by House Corian. The shipwright trade is controlled by the two Houses, Shalsea and Kelsea. House Ryba controls the fishing trade. House Lykiaos controls the hunting trade along with the fishing trade. All Houses have dealt or deal with the piracy trade but none so more than House Shalsea and Kelsea as that they build and repair ships for the Pirate Archipelagoes. 
Defense of the island falls to the Merchant Marine Fleet and the Waveriders. Again these naval groups were long established before 400 A.C. It is an accepted theory that a rudimentary navy was organized shortly after the inhabitants settled on the island. They wanted to protect their new home from the war aggressors they had fled from across the seas. Over time they evolved into what they are today. The Nazatir Navy and the Waveriders are under the command of the Council and the Vox Populi. There main goal is to protect the island from invaders. The merchant navies other duties is to conduct trade with the mainland. It also operates a side operation that has profit trading with their neighbors in the Pirate Archipelagoes; otherwise known as piracy.
The Great Whitecap Flood of 400 A.C. damaged much of the islands spice, agriculture farms, and shipwright industries not to mention the city and town structures. Rebuilding was a long and difficult road and many hard choices and mistakes were made during that time. From 400 A.C. to 521 A.C. they turned to slavery and raiding to help rebuild their nation. The unfortunate victims of this era were any ships sailing off the coasts of Shaintar and inhabitants of Korindia. The Nazatir raided ships and Korindia and stole what they needed. They also took slaves to work on rebuilding the coastal towns and work in the fields. 
By 510 A.C., Nazatir was once again rebuilt and flourishing. But tensions had begun to arise between the younger generation and the older generation. The flashpoint topic: slavery. The younger generation spoke out about the dehumanizing treatment of slaves. They believed that the great nation of Nazatir no longer needed to trade in human misery – that Nazatir had been originally built on the principles of freedom and not upon the backs of human bones enslaved. The older generation that was in power stated that slavery was a necessary evil for Nazatir to survive. It stated that Nazatir could simply not survive without slave labor to work the fields and other menial tasks. 
Led by Kyler Lykiaos, an attempted coup broke out in 514 A.C. that thrust the nation into a civil war that lasted for seven years. Slaves joined in on the rebellion. Nearly a third of Nazatir’s population died before war’s end. It is the only time in the island’s history, that an entirely new Council and Vox Populi was chosen. The Council and the Vox Populi’s first decree abolished slavery in 521 A.C. 
The period between 521 A.C. and 1275 A.C. is relatively quiet in Nazatir history. In 1277 A.C. they open trade with the Freelands by trading spices, textiles, and fish in exchange for horses, livestock, and other goods. Trade with the Fae Nation soon followed in 1278 A.C. By 1283 A.C. a tentative trade agreement with Korindia occurred. It was later made permanent as time proved Nazatir trustworthy (remember their first encounters with the Nazatir were hostile). 
The Dragon War in 2216 A.C. was the first recorded mainland war to sweep up Nazatir in the conflict. Ceynara sent some of her minions out to conquer the island nation. But the Childer were no match for this sea-faring nation especially when most battles occurred on the high seas. Fighting along side their neighbors, the Pirate Archipelagoes, they were able to drive back Ceynara’s forces and closed the Cauldron on the isle near the town of Kril. With the end of the Dragon War in 2234 A.C. the island nation once again entered into a period of relative calm and peace.
War once again swept Natazir into the greater conflict when The Betrayal War erupted in 3021 A.C. This time the forces of Darkness and Flame joined in the sole purpose of conquest. Vainar and Ceynara’s forces were able to wrest control and conquered the Pirate Archipelagoes and half of Nazatir. A fourth of the Waverider fleet was out to sea when the surprise attack occurred on Nazatir. They were arriving back from a trade route when they met up with some of the battered Navy fleet near Halberd Cove. Repairs were quickly done and a battle plan set into action to free Nazatir from Vainar and Ceynara’s minions. Under the command of Marcos Sanrevelle the fleet arrived under the cover of night and launched a successful attack. In the course of a month they helped free Nazatir.
Once Nazatir was free Sanrevelle lead an armed fleet to the Archipelagoes to once again help their neighbor. They encountered a flotilla of pirate ships twelve in number. Captains Rodrick Bain and Vance Danatar had been in route to seek Nazatir aid. All together they launched an attack on the main forces of Darkness and Flame in the Thirteenth Hour on the 27 of White Stag. At the same time an attack on the forces of evil was being launched at Og m’Drakar. On the morning of the 28th The Betrayal War ended suddenly with the defeat of Vainar and Ceynara. Sanrevelle and third of the Nazatir fleet died that day but they are heralded as great heroes in Nazatir culture and society.
The end of the Betrayal War ushered in a nearly a century of peace. But dark signs and portents have led the Nazatir to send representatives to sit on the Centenium Council in 3098 A.C. A century of peace maybe coming to an end.

Jonkeph Skein
                                                                                    Shaintar: Yesteryears and Today